


By Tooth and Claw

by Bittercape (bittercape)



Category: Rusty Quill Gaming (Podcast)
Genre: Graphic Violence, M/M, Monsters, a fluffy werewolf story, werewolf!Ed
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-25
Updated: 2021-01-31
Packaged: 2021-03-17 18:46:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 3,501
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28979097
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bittercape/pseuds/Bittercape
Summary: You know Ed would be the fluffiest and least frightening werewolf in the history of werewolves, right?
Relationships: Edward Keystone/Tjelvar Stornsnasson
Comments: 20
Kudos: 24
Collections: EdTjelvar Week 2021





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Zai42](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zai42/gifts).



> Me being me, this will be cute, and sweet, and possibly a little bit dirty. Rating may change.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompts: Company | Solitude | Meetings | Red

The world was different from how it used to be. It was hard to find the words to describe it, so he didn’t really try. But the biggest difference was in how he could sort of see with his nose, now. But the smells of everything were so clear, so present, that he didn’t really need to see with his eyes, like he used to. He could even see into the past with his nose, if he worked at it. Which was how he found his new path.

He had just been wandering aimlessly, he wasn’t sure for how long. Time didn’t really matter in the same way anymore. What mattered now was hunting food, and eating food, and staying away from people. He had learned that lesson the last time he had gotten close to a village. He had smelled the fear coming off them, as clear as the sun in the sky, and he had smelled when the fear turned to rage when they were crowded together, many enough to feel stronger than him. When the first one bent to pick up a rock, he ran away. 

And so he was alone, hunting and wandering without any plan beyond existing. He hid from the moonlight, without any understanding of why. He took care to prey on the oldest and weakest animals in a pack, rather than feeding on the young. And he always sat quietly in the sunlight in the morning, letting nothing disturb him from the feeling of warmth on his face. 

***

At some point, when the sun was low and the sky was red and the wind changed, he caught a scent from a leaf blowing by. It was faint and had travelled far, and had mixed with many others on the way, but it tickled a memory buried deep.  _ Friend _ .

It wasn’t really a decision as such, but he started searching for the scent on the ground. After a long time he found it. It was weeks old and had been crossed by other scents many times, but he could still track it. He followed his nose over hills and around mountains, through forests and around lakes. He sometimes lost the scent, but he had the direction, and so he tracked by eyes when his nose didn’t help. He only stopped when he had to, to sleep or to hunt or to feel the sun. He didn’t count the sleeps, but he knew there were many. As he ran, the scent got stronger. He was gaining on the friend, but it was difficult to tell by how much. 

  
He didn’t know how much time had passed or how far he had travelled when he smelled smoke on the wind, mixed with the friend scent. Not far now. He reached a clearing and saw a man sitting by a small campfire. A big orc man, with wild black hair and glasses. He was holding out his hands towards the fire, and as he shifted, the friend scent was clearer than ever. In his canine brain, he found the right word for this friend.  _ Tjelvar. _


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Today's prompts: Sunlight | Moonlight | Campfire | Orange

The day had been a long one, and he was tired after a full day’s march. He was happy to be travelling alone, hunting a rumour in the wilderness, after all the hectic madness of the past year. It felt, in a way, like going back to his roots. He remembered treks like this from his childhood - long days of walking in cold weather, hunting for big game to bring back to the village. After years of academia and travelling with companies, it felt like coming full circle. 

Granted, he had brought supplies with him, and he was mainly hunting for things other than food these days. To himself, he could admit that he was chasing a rumour, partially to get away from civilization - if only for a little bit. And so here he was, about four hundred miles north-east of Minsk, following a map that was almost certainly a hoax, looking for an ancient temple of a god that may or may not have ever existed. He huffed into his hands, partially to get some warmth and partially in vague exasperation with himself. Time to set up camp. 

A short walk around the clearing provided plenty of fallen and dried out branches for a fire. After pitching his tent and gathering his supplies, he built the fire and cooked a simple meal. He’d trapped a few rabbits at his last camp, and planned to set the traps anew before going to bed. He was not sure how long his supplies would have to last, so he made a habit of gathering what he could as he went. He was far from his childhood homeland, but the terrain and the flora were familiar, so it was easy enough to identify the edible food. After eating his simple meal, he gathered snow in his saucepan and put it over the fire for a cup of tea before going to bed. There was still firewood left for a while, and for a small fire in the morning before breaking camp again.

He was holding his hands out towards the fire, feeling the warmth seep into his bones, when a prickling sensation on his neck told him someone - or something - was watching him. It seemed unlikely that any company this far into the wilderness would be friendly, but he did not want to risk being hostile to a wayward farmer or even someone who could have valuable information about the temple or any other local myths. He reached carefully for his long hunter’s knife and turned his head slowly. 

The moon provided plenty of light, but there was nothing to see behind the cover of trees and undergrowth, except the reflection of the fire in a pair of eyes. He waited, but didn’t move, for several long minutes. Then the eyes moved hesitantly forward. The shape of the figure melted into view, and it was the largest wolf he could ever remember seeing. It didn’t seem to be hunting or even vaguely aggressive, but Tjelvar didn’t let go of his knife. 

Slowly, the wolf approached. Its fur was golden, almost orange in the firelight, and it reminded Tjelvar of the sun. It sat down by the fire, wagging its tail. Tjelvar felt fairly certain none of that was normal wolf behaviour, but it still didn’t seem threatening, so he just … waited. After a while, the wolf shuffled closer in a way that could be called awkward in a human, and hunched down to put its massive head on Tjelvar’s knee. The eyes that looked up at him were the bluest blue, like the summer sky, and Tjelvar felt recognition snap into place. 

“Edward?”


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompts: Lost | Found | Family | Yellow

Tjelvar had no rational explanation for his certainty that the wolf was Edward, but certain he was. The way the wolf wagged his tail hard enough to shake his entire body was a definite clue, and the enthusiastic lick to the face was another. How and why Edward had become a wolf was a bigger mystery. Had he been cursed? Or magically transformed in some other way? He had no idea what to do about this completely surreal situation. If no better alternatives presented themselves, he would keep to his plan and continue towards his goal. If he could find a temple, maybe he could find a cleric who could help. 

For the time being, there was little else to do but going to sleep for the night. He let the fire burn down, and walked over to his little tent. The wolf that was Edward sat by the fire, looking at him with head tilted to the side. Feeling a little silly, Tjelvar held the tent flap open.

“Do you … do you want to sleep inside?” 

The wolf immediately bounded over in two long jumps, tail wagging and tongue flopping. Tjelvar let Edward enter first, and followed. 

Inside the tent, this idea seemed even sillier than it had outside. The wolf was nearly as long as the tent, and had to lie down to not push the canvas outwards. After some shuffling and struggling, Tjelvar got under his blankets. With the wolf pressed along his side, he fell asleep almost immediately, comforted by the warmth he had grown unaccustomed to. 

***

Ed couldn’t remember ever being this comfortable. The inside of the little tent was almost too small, and had gotten very warm overnight, but the air was full of Tjelvar’s scent. Ed had forgotten what  _ safe _ felt like, but he remembered the word. Like _pack_. He instinctively knew what that was, sort of like what family was supposed to be like, but never had been for him. Tjelvar felt safe. Tjelvar felt like pack. He thought, in a way, Tjelvar had found him and saved him, even though he was the one who had done the tracking. He opened one eye to a narrow slit, and could just see the earliest rays of morning sunshine hit the wall, highlighting it in a warm yellow. The sun was important, even if he couldn’t figure out why, but he didn’t know how to get outside without destroying the tent. And Tjelvar would probably not like that. 

He turned over carefully. Tjelvar was still sleeping. Ed wasn’t sure how to wake him, so he tried putting a paw on his chest. Tjelvar huffed a little in his sleep, but didn’t wake. Ed whined softly. Tjelvar kept sleeping. Ed had to get out to greet the sun. Tjelvar snored, and Ed made up his mind. With a single lick that covered half of Tjelvar’s face, he succeeded in waking him up. And very quickly, too. Tjelvar sat bolt upright so fast he almost headbutted Ed. But at least he was awake. Ed whined and tried to turn around to nose at the opening, but the tent was too small and he just ended up wiggling. 

***

“Oh, is it morning?” Tjelvar murmured. “Hang on, just let me …” His wiggling was more efficient and he managed to open the tent flap, allowing Edward to get out, tail first. When he came out himself, soon after, Edward was sitting in the sun, head tilted up and eyes closed. And if Tjelvar had had any doubt about the wolf’s identity, it would have been gone in that instant. The sun seemed to be caressing his fur, and the dusting of snow blowing on the wind caught the light around Edward’s form like a glittering halo. 


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Guess who's a day late. Oops?
> 
> Today's, or rather yesterday's, prompts:  
> Gods | Monsters | Dust | Green

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tags are updated and I have included an archive warning. Please check before continuing. Thanks!

As Tjelvar packed his tent and got ready to move on, Edward kept close. Tjelvar kept looking over, and he was always paying close attention to all the small tasks Tjelvar’s hands were doing. Rolling blankets, fastening straps - Edward’s gaze was following every movement of his fingers. He put his backpack against a large fir and went down on one knee.

“Hello Edward,” he spoke softly, feeling a little silly. Edward sat down on his haunches and panted, long tongue hanging out between incredibly large and sharp-looking teeth. 

“What happened to you, then?” Tjelvar murmured, and Edward whined in response. Tjelvar’s eyebrows lifted. 

“So you can still understand me, then.” Edward wagged his tail.

“Well, there’s not much I can do about … whatever has happened, but I’m looking for a temple of a sort, and maybe we can find some kind of cleric who can help. Does that sound like something you want to do?” Edward made a strange noise halfway between a growl and a soft howl, and started walking. After a few steps, he stopped and looked back at Tjelvar. Tjelvar shrugged, and followed. He was somehow going in the right direction.

***

They walked until the sun was high in the sky and Ed felt very tired. He sat down at the edge of a clearing, and Tjelvar stopped.

“Do you need a break,” he asked. Ed flopped down on the ground and curled up with his nose under his tail. The ground was soft and lovely, with springy, green moss under a thin layer of snow, and the sun was warm on his fur. He was asleep in an instant.

He woke to an unfamiliar smell on the wind. Tjelvar was humming softly to himself and leafing through some notes, and seemed content. Ed couldn’t identify the smell, but he was sure it was nothing good. He felt the fur on his neck fluff up big, and gave a deep growl without really meaning to. Tjelvar started, and nearly dropped some of his papers. 

“What’s wrong?” It was a good question, but Ed wouldn’t have been able to answer even if he could speak. There was just something wrong, something bad, coming. He had trouble figuring out where it came from, the wind was moving in strange ways, carrying smells from several directions. 

When it came, it was unnaturally quiet. A monstrosity that large shouldn’t be able to move sneakily through the undergrowth, but it moved on silent feet and with the measured movements of a natural hunter. Ed couldn’t tell what it was, but he knew there was something wrong with the creature. It seemed to be magically melded from several separate animals. It had the strong and speedy build of some kind of big cat, but the heavy front paws of a bear, and on its head were a massive pair of antlers, sharper and larger than on any animal Ed knew of. The mouth was wide in a silent roar, and it held at least three times the amount of teeth there should have been room for, longer and sharper than was natural. Its eyes were fixed on Tjelvar, who seemed too surprised to be afraid. He didn’t smell of fear, at least not that Ed could notice over the stench of the monster. With a growl, he leapt at it. 

The fight was brutal, but brief. The monster had the advantage of weight and too many sharp parts, but Ed had someone to defend and was not weak and ravenous from hunger. As he crushed the beast's neck with his jaw, he heard a surprised yelp from Tjelvar’s direction and spun around. He had just gotten his crossbow ready, and was aiming at another twisted creature, just coming out of the woods. This one looked different, but had no fewer teeth and claws. Sunlight streamed down from the sky, illuminating the dust motes falling from Tjelvar’s bow, catching on a drop of sweat, somehow not shining as clearly on the new monstrosity --- 

***

Tjelvar didn’t see Edward kill the first monster. He didn’t see him at all before he had fired his bow at the second one. The arrow grazed Edward’s flank and buried itself in the creature’s torso, but it didn’t seem to slow it down much. Edward met it head on, and did not hold back. In a move more coordinated than his opponent, he got it on its back and jaws around its throat in a matter of seconds, but not before the creature sunk its claws into the wound from the arrow and, with its final effort, tore through his flesh. 


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompts for day 5: Myth | Miracle | Mystery | Blue

Ed woke to several new sensations. There was a vague numbness in his side. Halfway between scent and sight, there was a sensation of a flickering candle, a shimmering burn in the air. And Tjelvar was singing. It wasn’t a recognisable melody as such, but a soft, deep humming that resonated in his bones. His mind felt foggy and he wasn’t sure what to do about any of this, so he decided to remain lying on his not-numb side until the world made sense.

Tjelvar must have noticed a change in his breathing or something else, though, and stopped singing. 

“Edward, are you awake?” Ed huffed in response, but didn’t move until Tjelvar pushed him to stand. “You have to move, so I can see if everything is okay. My healing isn’t anything much, but I think your wound was superficial. I still want to look for a healer of some kind, to make sure.” Ed trotted around experimentally. He felt sore, but not worse than after combat drills back when … the thought disappeared into fog. He could smell the relief on Tjelvar and pushed affectionately against his side. 

***

Tjelvar kept an eye on Edward as they kept walking. He moved with the same fluid efficiency as before, but this did not stop Tjelvar from quietly fretting. He knew well enough there wasn’t anything more he could do - he’d never focused much on healing and only knew the most basic stuff that he might need on a regular expedition. He was worried about the monsters and where they had come from and if there were more of them, and was sufficiently preoccupied inside his head to not pay much attention to the world outside, until he walked right into Edward.

Edward didn’t budge from a full grown orc crashing into him, so all signs pointed to him having been healed well enough. When Tjelvar emerged from his own thoughts, it was obvious why he had stopped. They were on a low ridge over a little valley, and the valley was entirely lush and green below them. The frost on the trees down the hill faded gradually, as though it was a change in seasons frozen in time. The forest was full of life. Even from a distance, Tjelvar could see flocks of birds in the trees. In the centre of the valley was a small structure, like a round hut, covered in moss. The only thing making it stand out from the landscape around it was its completely regular shape, and the smoke coming from an opening in the roof. Beside him, Edward was sniffing the air enthusiastically, and his tail wagged in a cautiously optimistic way. Tjelvar checked his notes and his maps, and they were right on the edge of the area he had judged most likely to hold a temple. 

“What do you think?” he asked Edward. The big wolf looked at him, blue eyes seeming to contain the entire sky. Then he sat down, as if to tell Tjelvar he should decide. 

***

Following Tjelvar into the valley, Ed was distracted by all the smells of the forest after the starkness of the winter left behind. He could scent all the seasons at once in here, and it was as enchanting as it was confusing. There was so much to take in, and overlaying it all was the sense of a presence bigger than he could comfortably imagine - and a smaller presence, more intense, concentrated like a syrup. He couldn’t make sense of it, but he followed his nose straight to the strange hut. There wasn’t a door, but he sat down outside and waited. He was certain that whoever was inside knew he was there, and was content to wait until it suited them to come out. 

A voice called out from inside, but he couldn't understand the words. 

“Pardon?” answered Tjelvar, and the person inside appeared in the opening. They were a small creature with greenish skin and long ears, and glowing red eyes.  _ Goblin _ , Ed thought,  _ like Grizzop _ . His tail wagged automatically. The goblin looked at them for a beat, and then cackled. They waved their hand and a spell that smelled vaguely herb-like washed over them.

“Who are you?” Ed didn’t pay attention while Tjelvar explained, but instead looked at the goblin. They were very small, shorter than Grizzop by half a head, but almost as broad. And there was something strange about them. Not in a bad or dangerous way, but like there was more to them than his senses could pick up. They smelled of the woods and everything in it, all at once. He felt it when their attention turned to him, gaze calculating. They stepped into the hut and came back out immediately, holding something.  _ Dangerous _ , said Ed’s senses.  _ Bad _ . He backed away. But not fast enough. The goblin threw the thing at him, and as it hit his chest, he howled in pain.

***

Tjelvar looked in shock as the fur on Edward’s chest caught fire and burned with an unnatural blue flame. Before he could act though, the goblin threw a powerful healing spell at the wolf, who gave a confused whine and sat down. 

“Werewolf,” they said, and Tjelvar felt his knees give way.

“What? But he’s been a wolf the whole time - I thought there was a curse of some kind. There’s even been moonlight!”

“He’s stuck in his wolf form, then. That may well be a curse. But that was silver, and you saw what happened. So. What else do you want?”

Tjelvar was at a loss for words. The goblin looked at him consideringly, and then went back into the hut. Tjelvar sat down next to Edward, who immediately lay down with his head in Tjelvar’s lap. He scratched behind his ears distractedly. This was all too much. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *handwaves Pathfinder spells* You saw nothing

**Author's Note:**

> To Zai, for the inspiration, the encouragement, and the fountain of knowledge they are about all flavours of monsterfuckery.
> 
> This was the beginning:  
> You know that story about the dog who got taken to the vet because she had some kinda trouble walking  
> And they found out she sprained her tail from wagging it too hard?  
> That's Eddie


End file.
